The Pastorino Family Circus

Yeay Me!

2011-03-10T15:14:00.001-06:00

I was on the train reading my book about the 7 spiritual laws of yoga when I was suddenly inspired to take up writing about myself in my blog :) It's been a long time, and the three people who follow this blog already know what's been going on in my life. On the off-chance that someone else starts to follow - I hope that you like what I have to say.

I have been an endless journey for peace and fulfillment in my life. I am (generally) a good person, I try to do right by others, help when I'm needed (and when I'm not), and try to refrain from being harmful to anyone or anything. You would think that this alone would make me feel good about life in general - but there has always been something just not quite right. I know it has to do with how I view myself and some questions that I always seem to have like: Who Am I? and What do I want?

So, I'm reading my book on the train. The chapter I'm reading centers around your body, mind and soul and how they are all connected to one another and the universe around you. The author states that "the ego seeks security through control and often has a deep-seeded need for approval. Most emotional pain is the results of your ego being offended because something that it believed it had control over was actually outside your jurisdiction" - Deepak Chopra. He goes on to say that whenever we solely identify with our ego, we bind ourselves to things that do not have permanent reality. This may be an attachment to a job, relationship, a body or a material possession. It could also be an attachment to a belief or view you have about something.

The goal is to be able to detach yourself from these things - to find your bliss in this way. He's not advising you go get a divorce and live by yourself in the woods - but I do think that all of us get caught up with only identifying with our ego. This is not to be confused with being conceited, which is often what people think when they hear the word egotistical, but in that we define ourselves by things that we manifest and things that are not permanent. If we lost the ability to walk, we would still have our soul. If we lost our jobs, would change as a person?

Who are we when we do not attach labels to ourselves? Who am I when I learn to let go?

After Shocks

2010-05-19T15:18:00.003-05:00

I don't believe that patriotism is something that is taught, it is bred and it is earned. I believe that it our duty as a nation to give people something to be proud of. It's our job as parents.

Hurricane Toni on High Horse Again

2010-05-19T15:04:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile since I have been pissed off enough to blog about something going on in the world. This time around, I am picking a fight with Texas. This might offend some of my friends, but my grudge isn't with them, it is with their Board of Education.
Texas is trying to re-write the history books for children K-12 to make them more "patriotic" and remind them that this is a nation created "under God". One of their efforts is to reduce the amount of time Jefferson spends in the schoolbooks because of his standpoint relating to the separation of church and state. Now, I'm going to go ahead and open a large can of worms here. I don't care what religion anyone is. In fact, perhaps I'm anti-organized religion. I believe that any spiritual relationship you have with God is yours and yours alone. If you want to pray in the same building, the same day of the week at the same time with other people who have your same views and opinions, then by all means - go nuts. But, it doesn't make anyone who doesn't share your same exact beliefs and praying rituals (and proves it by showing up to church each week) a bad person. I can be just a Christian as the next guy, how do you know I'm not? What if I judged you that way, Mr. Uber-Christian? "Judge not lest ye be judged", correct? Yes, I read the Bible. How can anyone PROVE that their relationship with God is the best, is perfect and is the "right" way to have a relationship with him or her? I'm just saying, that "under God" is a blanket statement. Our Pledge of Allegiance does not say, "Our Nation, Under a Christian God Only".

As usual, I digress.

My point is, Thomas Jefferson was as Christian as they come. His contention about the separation of church and state is that he didn't want ANY government involvement affecting people's freedom of religious choice. I'm assuming that the good educators of Texas forgot that the reason so many of our ancestors came "illegally" to this country was to escape religious persecution. In Jefferson's words: [American people] "declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between church and state". I guess I can't wrap my head around how this is un-patriotic? Is it because in their view this isn't a pro-religious enough stance?

Another issue I have is that these educators DECLARE themselves social conservatives. I guess I just don't understand why people can't leave their personal beliefs out of our education system. Religious and political-bias have no business affecting what my future children can and cannot learn. It's making a case for me to home-school.

I just find it to be so ironic that these people who blaspheme Barack Obama as a Nazi-communist are the same people who are looking to change our history books to promote their agenda. Changing education books to suit your political ideals is nothing short of propaganda. Same thing Nazi Germany did to indoctrinate the youth into a cult-like following, no? Is my view extreme? Perhaps. But how is it different from theirs?

Other nice little tidbits:

Promoting free-market economies (not mentioning them, promoting them)
They want to require children to learn about the "unintended consequences" of affirmative action
Change the name of the slave trade to the "Atlantic triangular trade". I literally have no words to explain all of the things wrong with this. I mean, you won't call it the slave trade? Which is what it was. They traded PEOPLE. 'Let's try to make that seem like a legitimate free enterprise business by re-naming it.' Bravo, Texas. I didn't think that any entity had the balls to do something like this. But, "its always bigger in Texas" must be true.

Love and PEACE to Everyone, I don't care who or what you are.

T

I'm Just Saying.....

2009-09-10T09:16:00.005-05:00

If our current, (somehow) elected Congresspersons and Sentaors can not read or choose to get their information about H.R. 3200 from a forwarded chain email (I'm talking to you Rep. Curtis Blackwood of North Carolina), then we have a major problem. Rep. Blackwood took criticisms, that originated from God only knows where, and put them in a newsletter to his constituents telling them that they would find some "interesting facts" regarding the "Democrats' big health care bill". I don't even know how to properly speak to this. I mean. Really? You really sent an email filled with misleading information and lies that have been debunked on numerous occassions by a number of individuals and non-profit organizations? And you sent it in the form of a newsletter from your office? I mean. Wow. I...well I'm just stunned actually. What a gross misjustice you have done and you should be ashamed of yourself.

And to quickly address the insulting display of disrespect from Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina (another congressperson I'm sure has not read the bill or has read any law whatsoever). It is currently ALREADY UNLAWFUL FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS TO RECEIVE GOVERNMENT HEALTH CARE. This bill does nothing to change that policy. Folks are taking out of context in Section 152 on page 50. Coming to you, directly from the bill:

"[e]xcept as otherwise explicitly permitted by this Act and by subsequent regulations consistent with this Act, all health care and related services (including insurance coverage and public health activities) covered by this Act shall be provided without regard to personal characteristics extraneous to the provision of high quality health care or related services."

The last time I checked, "personal characteristics" was not a synonym for "illegal aliens", but what do I know? I would actually take that to mean that you can not discriminate based on ethnicity, gender, age....you know, actual characteristics of a person.

I would also like to reiterate that on page 143 of the bill, it states:
"Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States."

I'm beginning to think that people who claim to have "read" the bill are either lying and propogating the BS they hear on Fox News and other ridiculously conservative media outlets or they are just incompetent and do not understand plain English. I would venture to guess that these are the same people that send me emails about how people need to learn to speak English or get out even though the United States does NOT have a national language. Hmmm. I wonder how many of these folks had ancestors that didn't speak English. Including Native Americans. Who are the only true non-immigrants. I'm just staying. And I digress.

To make the point I was beginning, this is a website that came up as a legitimate Affordable Health Care source on the homepage of Google: http://www.sdc.com/swingers-blogs/Proposed-Health-Care-Bill-Blog-35030.html

W.O.W. A quote: "Well, I have done it! I have read the entire text of proposed House Bill 3200: The Affordable Health Care Choices Act of 2009. I studied it with particular emphasis from my area of expertise, constitutional law. I was frankly concerned that parts of the proposed law that were being discussed might be unconstitutional. What I found was far worse than what I had heard or expected.To begin with, much of what has been said about the law and its implications is in fact true, despite what the Democrats and the media are saying. The law does provide for rationing of health care, particularly where senior citizens and other classes of citizens are involved, free health care for illegal immigrants, free abortion services, and probably forced participation in abortions by members of the medical profession."

How many times do these outright lies need to be debunked? A thousand times? Would that be enough? Here is a thought, crack open the bill and take a gander for yourself instead of trusting a complete stranger who has claimed to read it. But like most things, you see what you want to see instead of being objective. And, I simply can not WAIT to see how many free "forced participation in abortions" we have coming our way. I'm trying to contain myself from falling off of my chair and laughing about this absolutely ridiculous claim. But, I can keep myself seated because some people actually believe this is true. And the saddest part, is that this is bill would probably help those people the most.

I will have to save my outrage towards Sarah Palin for another day. I just don't have the energy.

Read it for yourself:

http://docs.house.gov/edlabor/AAHCA-BillText-071409.pdf

Back in Action

2009-08-27T18:36:00.004-05:00

I tend to only blog when something is important to me. This time around - its the debate surrounding health care reform. A close family friend recently told me that her six-year old child hasn't been covered in three years because she has acid-reflux and there isn't a health insurance company that would insure her. They won't insure a 3-year old because of heart burn??? WTF! God forbid something terrible happen to her. Their family could be bankrupted if she falls off of the monkey bars and breaks her arm - perhaps requiring surgery to the tune of 10's of thousands of dollars.

Which brings me to my next point. Close to 60% of the 1.5 million bankruptcies being filed this year are due to medical bills. 75% of thoes people HAVE insurance but claims were denied. One crucial talking point of the right wing is that having the government involved, that you would be letting beauracrats make medical decisions for you......NEWSFLASH: THEY ALREADY DO. They are just subsequently lining their pockets with our premiums. There is one health insurance CEO that is making $150 million per year. And my friend's chid can't have insurance because of heart burn.

"Among those whose illnesses led to bankruptcy, out-of-pocket costs averaged $11,854 since the start of illness; 75.7 percent had insurance at the onset of illness."

The average bankrupt person surveyed had spent $13,460 on co-payments, deductibles and uncovered services if they had private insurance. People with no insurance spent an average of $10,893 for such out-of-pocket expenses. How can it cost MORE to be insured than to not be?? I'm sorry if this makes no sense to me....

Don't buy into the BS that the media is trying to sell you. Do some research and read the bill as its being presented. The goal is not to eliminate private insurance, its goal is to try to make health care accessible and affordable to every single American by offering a public option that will force the insurance companies to compete.

People fail to realize that they pay for those who are uninsured anyways - through the form of their health insurance premiums. You are also penalized if you get sick. I had knee surgery this year, now next year when our company goes in for coverage review, they are going to come back with high rates, because of me. And my company and/or co-workers will have to foot the bill. The bill that insurance companies should pay for since we pay so much in premiums.

More facts and figures:

The United States has the 2nd most costly health care.
We rank 37th in the world for quality of health care.
The insurance companies retained a surpluss of over $600 billion by the end of 2006, which is higher than the GDP of 193 countries.
If you are a woman, you pay more for health insurance.
Right now, providers in Illinois lose over $2.1 billion in bad debt which often gets passed along to families in the form of a hidden premium “tax”.
In IL, the largest insurer carries 52% of the insured population....where is the competition for quality health care at an affordable rate?

This is just the beginning......pay attention and don't be caught buying into the big "town hall" uprising crap. There are actually groups out there that are teaching people how to disrupt a town hall meeting that state representatives are hosting to make it look like tons of people are up in arms over health care reform.

Toni

I did it!!!

2009-03-11T09:56:00.002-05:00

Some background: Stephanie and I were talking last October about doing some half marathons together. In our research, she stumbled upon this event. We loved the idea and decided to talk our Mom's into doing this with us. And they agreed!! So, four months ago this journey began....

So, for the first time in my life I actually TRIED to do something. I was training since about December for the inagural Disney's Princess 1/2 Marathon at Disney World. I stayed in on Saturday nights so I could make sure to get up early on Sunday's to do my long runs. I was going to the gym late at night even after long 12+ hour days. I disappeared for a couple of months. Then, I tore my ACL the first weekend in February. I was super depressed b/c my goal of finishing this half marathon was shot. But, the trip was planned, so I went.

We arrived a couple of days early to relax. But, Saturday was the Expo held at Disney's Wide World of Sports. I was so excited to be there and get my race packet and shirt, that I decided right then and there that I was going to try to make it at least 6 miles so I could walk or run through the Magic Kingdom. Reason being: not only was this my first half - but this was my first trip to Disney World!! Unfortunately, the only running gear I had with me were my shoes - so I had to buy a skirt, shirt, socks and a bra. Oh, and a stabilizing knee brace. My doctor did tell me last Monday that I should not be running, but I didn't care. Oh well!!

I decided that I wanted a finisher's medal. There was a 4 hour time limit, but I thought if I could get halfway through, that I could walk the rest if need be. Well....I was able to run for about 8.5 miles and then my legs gave up on me. So, I started to walk. Luckily around 9.5 miles, I found a women how was doing 30s running/1 min walking. She got me through to the 12 mile marker and I picked up my pace a little bit. It took me 3:07 to finish, but I did finish. I earned the crap out of my awesome medal and I'm very proud!!!! My legs weren't very happy with me and I'm sure my doctor won't be either, but I don't care. I feel pretty good today, so that's fine with me.

I will post pictures later!

Fun Times and Follies

2009-02-11T16:36:00.004-06:00

So....ski trip to Granite Peak was this past weekend. Wow - what a good time (again). People should really join us on these trips. Anyway, we were so pumped to go on Friday evening that we were literally jumping around in the garage when Kedric and Shona pulled up (b/c that signaled the last of the group). We sang the entire way up for four straight hours and then checked into the hotel, had a few drinks at the hotel bar and went to bed. Everyone was pretty pooped. Except Jeff.....who thought that having 5 beer and 2 shots in 20 minutes was smart. Wife wanted to smack husband :)

Saturday morning we got up and ate our favorite breakfast spot: Emma Krumbees. Super yum. Then we all tackled the slopes. It was a gorgeous day to ski, not too cold, not too warm. Runs were amazing. The only bummer was that the west side of the slopes were not open, which is our favorite place to ski. A little more challenging, but super runs nonetheless. Shona wasn't sure of herself, but she ended up learning a ton and looking more comfrotable. Gretchen's ankle was bothering her pretty bad, which was a bummer, but she rested and then hit the slopes again. We managed get both Gretchen and Shona on a tougher blue! We were all getting pretty hungry and tired so we left around 5:30pm or so. We ate a nice little local joint and then all of us were so exhausted we pretty much went to bed.

Sunday rolls around and thanks to all of our rest, we are able to hit the slopes relatively early on Sunday. And - the West side runs were open! Woo hoo! We took Gretchen and Shona over there with us. The first part was easy....then comes trouble! Shona was a little nervous since we were going on a much more difficult run. I hung back with her to try to coach her down a little bit. Long story short....she slid onto her side and I didn't exactly move out of the way b/c it looked as though her skis would go right in between mine. Well they did, and then her right ski slid and took out my leg. I heard a pop and hit the ground. I managed to ski down to ski patrol with Shona and got some ice. Needless to say, I was done for the day. Shona and I sat in the lodge and drank some 312 while the rest of the group kept skiing.

Not more than 15 minutes later, Gretchen fell off of a run and down an embankment and screwed up her back really bad. Our friend Nick said it was the scariest thing he's ever seen and was pretty shook up. We took her to the local ER to make sure she was OK. Thankfully those XRays didn't reveal any broken bones and they gave her some pain meds. And by the way - best hospital ever. They have a medication dispenser called InstyMeds and she paid for and received her prescription on the spot. Amazing.

We played games and had some drinks on Sunday night. It was fun times and we were to bed by around 1:00am. Monday it was time to hit the road.

So, I had to call the doctor b/c my knee was super swollen and the ski patrol team said I should get it looked at. Thankfully I was able to get in on Tuesday. So, my doctor comes in and plays around with my knee a bit and tells me he thinks it's a torn ACL and a Grade II tear in my MCL. He drained some fluid from my knee and said if it had blood in it, it was almost for sure a torn ACL, and of course, it had blood in it. Still waiting for the MRI results on that one. If so, I will be out of commission for months....no triathlons for me :(

Anyway....besides the really high number of accidents, the trip was a blast and I will go again next year without a doubt!

I'm sad today and let me tell you why...

2009-02-05T16:42:00.004-06:00

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/05/army.suicides/index.html

I read this article when I was getting my latest dose of news from CNN. I think it's disgusting that we have spent $1.3 trillion in a war that never should have happened. But those of you reading this already know my thoughts on that.

The gist of the article, is that once confirmed, more soldiers would have died by their own hand than by combat in Jan '09. Multiple deployments, seperation from family, financial crisis and not getting adequate mental-health treatment are all to blame. If not more. This is what makes me sad, perhaps disgusted is a better word. We have dickheads in the corner offices of the banks we were 'forced' to bailout, with OUR money, re-decorating offices for $1.2 million and cashing in $15million bonus checks for FAILING at what they do. Many of these kids are essentially forced to go to war b/c they come from places that have poor education and poverty which leave them with few options in life than any of us were afforded. These guys come home to people who don't support the war they are in and have learned that they aren't fighting for what they thought originally was a righteous cause. Soldiers get crap pay, even worse benefits and perhaps the most worrisome - little to no respect. I wonder if they factor in the cost of human life while they are ringing up their $12B/month bill on the "war against terror".

Does that seem unfair to you?

I think it's total BS.

Attention Ladies

2009-01-28T11:04:00.002-06:00

There are to be no excuses this year. I am strongly encouraging some participation in a triathlon this year!

Once again, there are quite a few months between now and July. It all starts with one lap of the pool, one lap of a track and a couple of miles on a bike. Anyone can do it!!

http://www.trekwomenstriathlonseries.com/wisconsin.html

This is the link for an all-women's tri up in Pleasant Prairie, WI. I will be participating in at least three races this year, and this will be one of them. Lake Andrea is a great place to swim and PP really knows how to host a great race. Please join me and you, too, will see how inspirational it is to watch women of all shapes and sizes cheer and motivate one another to cross the finish line.

Family Weekend

2009-01-26T09:10:00.002-06:00

That is how I felt this weekend. I got to 'borrow' my brothers kids :) I guess that's better than saying babysit when you're referring to your adorable nephews. My brother was really sick with the stomach flu and had to go to the hospital on Thursday night. So, Thursday through Sunday Jack was at my house. Braxton only stayed on Thursday and Friday because he was having his 11th birthday bash back at his house on Saturday. The kicker about B is that he didn't have to stay on Friday, but he walked to our house from school because he wanted to come and keep Graminator company. Sweetest thing....Anyway, I would like to think it was a little like having my own kid(s) in the house for a few days. They drove Jeff a little nutty, but it was fine by me. Friday night we went shopping for Braxton's birthday party supplies. He decided on having a luau theme since it's been so darn cold. Because Jack was being a good boy, he got him a $9 Lightning McQueen balloon. That thing was twice the size of him, but it was hilarious and worth it. We ended up going home and curling up on the couch to watch the Incredibles. It was really cute and we had fun. I was exhausted though and fell asleep before 11. NICE!

Saturday morning brough Jeff home from work at 4am. He seemed pretty upset and just couldn't stop talking about how badly he wants to move out of here and just be us out in Colorado. He doesn't open up that much to me about things that he wants, so I decided to let him go even though it was the middle of the night. He has been a real trooper with having my family staying with us. He is so patient and kind and I'm really lucky to have such a great husband. I think that this situation has actually brought us closer together and we have greater respect for each other and our time together.

Anyway, Carynn brought Josephine and Finley over in the morning for a playdate with Jack. They were all SO adorable playing with one another. They played airplanes and chased each other around...and sort of watched the Little Mermaid. It was so nice to finally have them all together and I hope we can do it again! After that, we took Jack to play at Chuck E Cheese with Mom too! It was actually really fun and surprisingly clean in there. Afterwards, Uncle Keck and Auntie (as he calls us) took the munchkin to Jewel so we could get him popsicles. Yes, we bribed him to do a lot of things for popsicles. Being good, eating dinner, taking a "rest" for thirty minutes. Very effective!

We played and played and Jack even helped with the laundry. As we were sitting on the floor waiting for the washing machine to fill up with water, he asked me the most interesting question, "Auntie, why are you happy?" I didn't even pause, and said, "becuase you're here". Which is true. It just struck me as such an innocent question and yet something quite profound to think about. We always spend so much time thinking about reasons why we aren't as happy as we could be, that I think we fail to stop and think about all of the things in our life that actually make us happy. Jack eventually grabbed his blanket and crawled next to me on the couch and fell asleep in my arms. At that moment, for me, it was a realization that my family, as nuts as we can be, actually make me happy.

Sunday morning Jeff and I got up and ran 7 miles at the gym. That's my longest run to date and it felt really good! We spent the rest of the day cleaning the house, doing laundry and enjoying each other's company in the peace and quiet of our home. Sunday afternoons have become the only time when we don't usually have people ino ur house, so we try to enjoy it while we can! Overall, it was a really nice and quiet and fun weekend without going out partying or spending money on useless, wasteful things. I hope to have more like this. And sometime in the future, enjoy these weekends with kids of our own.

Why are you happy?

I'm Taking You By The Horns '09

2009-01-06T08:28:00.003-06:00

That quote is from the first day of the new year, by my wonderful hubby. I'm sure it had something to do with driving or being a little tipsy...but it was hilarious and a pretty darn good motto for the new year.

My friend Sarah sent me this pretty interesting questionnaire that asks you to reflect on your 2008 and make plans for 2009. Wow - I realized that I accomplished nothing in 2008. Not one goal. Not even the slightest bit of headway. I want to thank her for sending me that little nugget of "wake your ass up, slacker"! So, I have decided this year to put myself and my goals ahead of everything else and see if I can't follow through on something. Here is a little sampling of this year's goals. Please hold me to them, I'll need some help!!

I will choose my words more carefully.
I will drink only in moderation.
I will go home before midnight.
I will slow down and enjoy the present, for tomorrow it's gone.
I will be more careful with my money and purchase less.
I will be more patient.
I will learn self-discipline.
I will run two half-marathons.
I will start to learn a new language.
I will not give up my childhood dreams and I will do what is necessary to achieve them.
I will re-evaluate my definition of hard work.
I will write in a journal.
I will take 15 minutes and give them to myself each day.
I will do yoga once a week.
I will be grateful for what I have.
I will go to church.
I will watch less TV and read more books.

This is my year of personal enrichment and fulfillment. It is my last year in my "20s" and I'd like to take it out better than I've had any other year. And at the same weight as I was in '99 :)

Here's to me; here's to you and here's to a happy and accomplished 2009!

Peace!

Yeay for Big Oil Companies!!!

2008-10-30T12:02:00.003-05:00

I just wanted to share this AMAZING news with everyone!!!
ExxonMoblie just broke another profit record. AWWWW! How awesome is that?

Mccain Has Taken At Least $720,613 From The Oil & Gas Industry. According to a Public Campaign Action Fund analysis of campaign finance data provided by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics Center, John McCain accepted at least $720,613 from the oil and gas industry since 1989. [Center for Responsive Politics via Campaign Action Fund]

At Least 15 Top McCain Advisers & Fundraisers Have Lobbied For Big OilJohn McCain has at least 15 people working for his campaign, either as top fundraisers or as senior campaign staff, that have lobbied for Big Oil. Here are a handful

Wayne Berman
National Finance Co-Chairman
Ogilvy Government Relations
Amerada Hess Chevron Texaco American Petroleum Institute

Charlie Black
Senior Political Adviser
BKSH
Occidental Petroleum Corp. Yukos Oil Chinese National Off-Shore Oil Corp.

Eric Burgeson
Fundraiser
Barbour Griffith & Rogers
BP *Burgeson resigned from McCain's campaign because of his lobbying ties

Kerry Cammack
Fundraiser
Cammack and Strong
Exxon Mobil

Frank Donatelli
McCain Pick as Deputy RNC Chair
McGuire Woods
Exxon Mobil

McCain's Tax Plan Gives Top Five Oil Companies $3.8 Billion A Year In Tax Breaks. According to a study conducted by the Center for American Progress, "The McCain plan would deliver approximately $170 billion a year in tax cuts to corporations, including some corporations that are very large and profitable. Just one of the proposals-cutting the corporate rate from 35 percent to 25 percent-would cut taxes for five largest U.S. oil companies by $3.8 billion a year." [Center for American Progress, 3/27/08]

McCain Voted Against Reducing Dependence On Foreign Oil. In 2005, McCain voted against legislation calling on the President to submit a plan to reduce foreign petroleum imports by 40 percent. [Senate Roll Call Vote #140, 6/16/05]

McCain Voted Against Renewable Energy Technology. In 2001, McCain voted against establishing tax credits for investments in renewable energy technologies, incentives for new energy efficient residential construction and tax deductions for increased energy efficiency in commercial buildings. The motion failed 43-56. [H.R. 1836, Vote #125, 5/21/2001]

McCain Voted Against Funding for Renewable Energy Programs. In 1999, McCain opposed an amendment that would increase funding for energy supply and research & development activities for renewable energy sources by reducing unnecessary Energy Department contractor travel expenses. McCain voted to kill an appeal made by the chair that this amendment was out of order, effectively voting to kill the amendment. The motion to kill the appeal (and thus the amendment) passed 60-39. [S. 1186, Vote #171, 6/16/1999]

Let's Talk Socialism

2008-10-22T10:45:00.002-05:00

Perhaps people who claim to be qualified for the Presidency should take a class on the theories of government. Most semi-educated people know that all theories look good on paper, but clearly have their flaws, including democracy and capitalism.

“He wants to quote ‘spread the wealth around,’” McCain said “He believes in redistributing wealth, not in policies that grow our economy and create jobs and opportunities for all Americans. Sen. Obama is more interested in controlling who gets your piece of the pie than he is in growing the pie.”

To put it in context, Senator Obama said when questioned by Joe the Plumber:
“It’s not that I want to punish your success, I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you, that they’ve got a chance at success too. My attitude is that if the economy’s good for folks from the bottom up, it’s going be good for everybody. If you’ve got a plumbing business, you’re gonna be better off if you’ve got a whole bunch of customers who can afford to hire you, and right now everybody’s so pinched that business is bad for everybody, and I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody."

Socialism refers to a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole. Socialists mainly share the belief that capitalism unfairly concentrates power and wealth among a small segment of society that controls the capital, and creates an unequal society. All socialists advocate the creation of an egalitarian society, in which wealth and power are distributed more evenly.

My point is, nowhere did he say that he planned on nationalizing his plumbing business, controlling the land that his business is on nor the capital that is accumulated and spreading that around to everyone. He is simply pointing out that business is bad for everyone right now and EVERYONE could benefit from having a little MORE. Let's think about the reasons why small business is suffering. Is it because of the banks on Wall Street? Well, it is now that it's messing with people's retirement funds and investments. People aren't CONSUMING, they are not shopping, the are saving and conserving. Don't you find it odd that Campbell's Soup stock is rising during these poor economic times but major retailes like Circuit City are on the brink of liquidation? Small businesses are closing their doors because nobody is walking through them, not because the government nationalized their wealth.

Election Dissection

2008-10-21T11:04:00.003-05:00

So - I have to thank the good folks at CNN for giving us a football like play by play of every single thing that goes on during the election. I know listen to talk radio every morning, noon and night that I am in my car and I last week I fell asleep watching Wolf Blitzer on Friday night.

I am forced to ask myself this. What happened to my youth?

Perhaps I am a late bloomer when it comes to idealism and wanting to save the world from disaster. That probably should have come ten years ago when I first started college. Ah well. I am thankful that I care enough about this country to pay attention to what is going on and I am a strong enough individual to not vote strictly down party lines. While I am a fierce Obama/Biden ticket supporter, I am choosing to vote for a moderate Republican for a House seat and plan to re-elect a Lake County District Board member who voted exactly how I would have. I find that people get so hung up on one, two or many irrelevant facts when it comes to picking candidates. I also find that people are only ever concerned with the Presidential picks, but could care less about Congress - BIG MISTAKE!

But, since we are on the topic of Presidential politics, I have a few opinions that I would like to share with my 3 readers:

It is no surprise to anyone that Fox News likes to pretend like the roll down the middle, but they lean ( I mean lay down) to the right. Bill O'Reilly decided that since so many people in the country aren't "real Americans" that we would just start telling the terrorists who it was OK to bomb. That's right. He said that it would be OK to eradicate San Francisco because it wasn't part of the "real America". And they have the nerve to call Obama a terrorist? W.O.W. What's more frightening is that there are those out there who agree with this.
I am tired of Republican VP candidates pretty much telling me that I am Anti-American because I am not voting for their ticket. Does anyone read history?? Republican government has historically catered to the rich and big business. Clearly giving tax breaks to those large corporations has not helped them create U.S. jobs, but it has helped their CEO's line their pockets. And to call someone who wants to spread tax breaks among the middle-class Americans a socialist. Ummmm.....Your President and Secretary of the Treasury just unleashed a nearly $1 Trillion bailout of Wall Street. Is that not socialism? Spreading OUR taxpayer wealth to the......oh yes. Wealthy. Gotcha.
I applaud John McCain for removing the microphone from folks who call Obama an Arab and those that are "terrified" of him becoming President. (I think that is the real McCain. I do think that he is an honest and decent person, I just think he has horrible advisors and campaign managers and made a catastrophic mistake in Sarah Palin). HOWEVER, he denounced the fact that Obama is an Arab, which he is not, but did so by saying he's a "good family man" as if being Muslim or Arab is a bad thing. Is there nobody who has a problem with this? What if Muslims ran this country and were talking nonsense about Christians on a national stage (I'm talking to you Rush Limbaugh)? Oh, but that could never happen right? Tell that to Jesus. He was a minority believer once too.
Taxes. Stop talking about them. We live a life of luxury here in America no matter how you slice it. Somebody has to pay for it. I think those that live in more luxury should have to pay more for it. If you are wealthy enough to own multiple homes, have private jets and spend $25k night for a private island vacation, then you can afford to chip in a little more for our national infrastructure. Nobody is telling the wealthy to make less money or taking away something that they can't live with out.
Last but not least. I certainly hope, that no matter who anyone votes for, that they are doing so because they think that person is the best hope for getting this country out of the colossal craphole that we are in. Not because they are black, old, a woman, Arab, a Christian, pro-life, pro-choice, or because they like the tie they wore at the last debate. Focus on the issues at hand. Too bad there wasn't a decent third party candidate....
Ron Paul '08

Thanks for reading my rants. I am just feeding into the negativity that I see out there every day. One word misspoken and everyone erupts! This has become a world where we have to Fact Check every single comment made. Truly guilty until proven innocent. I imagine our forefathers are rolling around in their graves at the moment.

Please vote. It's your right that was so hard fought for. Have some respect for our predecessors.

Peace.

What now?

2008-08-25T10:43:00.002-05:00

I actually shed a tear last night when the US Men's Volleyball Team cruised to a gold medal victory at the Beijing Olympics. Was it in response to the tragedy to triumph story? Perhaps a little. But more than that, my tears fell because it was the final event I watched in the 2008 Summer Olympic games. I have spent the last 2.5 weeks glued to NBC watching countless hours of competition. From swimming and divings to double skulls and rowing, my dedication to cheering on Team USA from my couch never wavered. I was up until 12:45am watching Nastia Lukin win the Women's Gymnastics All-Around and cursing the terrible over-judging of the Chinese gymnasts. Empathizing with Shawn Johnson's parents after she won the Gold on Beam. I felt like I was actually IN the water cube for every single race that Michael Phelps swam in - cheering and jumping up and down in my living room or local bar - getting teary-eyed when I watched his Mom fall into her seat after his amazing finish in the 100m Fly. Rocking back adn forth like I was rowing to gold with the US 8 Women Team. I never went to bed before the sign off of my beloved Bob Costas. Now, what am I to do with my time? Probably get more sleep and accomplish more around the house. Post-Olympic life will be boring I'm sure. Here's to London 2012.

Peace.

Hmmmm.....

2008-08-05T19:38:00.003-05:00

I figured it was about time I wrote about something useful, but I am not feeling that deep this evening. I'm watching the news and listening to them babble on about the bad storms we had last night. And guess what everyone???!! You can go to cltv.com and BLOG about it! WOW! Are you kidding me? I have to say, that while I have a blog of my own, I'm not taking up someone else's space. It kills me all of these people who post comments on news stories, sports stories, the latest tragedies of our beloved Hollywood starlets. I'm not sure about you, but I work. While I take the normal liberties of checking email, IM'ing friends, checking in on Facebook and reading random newsstories throughout the day - it does not consume my day. Well, it doesn't consume most days. How on Earth do these people find the time to post messages on every single freaking story. Better than that - they have actual conversations and arguments with one another. Most people posting comments are stupid. Not joking - read the comments some time. There is usually one or two normal people in there, but the rest resort to using improper grammar, poor spelling and writing cuss words to effectively get across their point in the written word. You stay classy message board posters. You stay classy.

OMG....if I have to watch one more stupid Luna carpet commercial, I think I'm going to chuck my remote at the 50"er 15 feet in front of me. This last commerical makes me wish the advertising team would be re-evaluated. It also makes me wish we would have gone with Empire. But that FREE ROOM is just unbeatable!

Anywho, like I said. Nothing really to blog about that is of any importance whatsoever. So, I will finish with a wedding well with for my friend Stephanie who is getting married on Saturday. Love you much and thank you for honoring our nearly 20 year friendship by allowing me to hold a special position in your wedding. I can't wait for the beautiful day!

Peace.

A show nobody watches but should.

2008-07-25T16:53:00.003-05:00

Ok, so Jeff and I started watching a show last year on USA called Burn Notice. It is freaking hilarious. If you haven't seen it, it's about this spy who has been "burned" by the CIA. They essentially dump him in Miami with no money, destroy his credit, and sort of erase his existence. While he is trying to find out who 'burned' him, he does these odds and ends PI jobs. And it's funny as hell. He has two quircky side-kicks, Fiona and Mike who also provide great entertainment. He is like Hortaio from CSI Miami, but more awesome. Instead of tilting his sunglasses down and saying something stupid, he flashes a cute smile and says something hilarious. A line that made me laugh last night:

"So, you've never written a bad check, huh? Didn't they used to call you Bad Check Barry?"

It's a show for everyone. Beatiful people, intelligent storyline, good lines, guns, bombs, spies and more. It's worth a shot on USA Thursday nights.

Have a great weekend. I'll wave to you from the bleachers tomorrow at Wrigley.

Word.

GAVIN DEGRAW R.U.L.E.S.

2008-07-03T11:24:00.002-05:00

Oh my gosh!
So, as I was tooling around the Summerfest site the other day, seeing if there was anyone worth checking out before my super awesome Tom Petty/Steve Winwood concert starts and what do I find? What is it that I find? That is right.....THE Gavin DeGraw is playing a general admission show tonight.

So, natrually, I have to prepare myself. I know every single word to his Chariot CD and I am proud of it. But, he had a new CD come out on May 6th that I forgot to buy, so I'm currently listening to Rhapsody online learning all of his newer songs so that I'm ready for my "I'm the biggest Gavin fan" contest that I will be holding with the other people at the show. I should actually say that I am the 2nd biggest Gavin fan because truth be told, my good friend Melissa turned me on to him in 2004. Nonetheless, I will be number one fan in the Midwest :)

T-Bone

Word!!!!! :)

Sorry for the delay - Kind of

2008-07-01T09:26:00.003-05:00

So, I know it's been over a month since I have posted to this blog, and I sincerely apologize to my 4 fans. So, I suppose it's time to get caught up on the latest happenings. I will do some bullet points and then move on:

I have bursitis in both of my hips adn I haven't been able to run in 8 weeks. Which sucks because I'm supposed to be doing the marathon in October.
On a happy note, I have been cleared to start using the elliptical trainer, so I will gladly be indulging in that at lunch today. God help me.
Work is improving on a daily basis. I'm starting to feel a bit more secure in my role here, so I do hope that it's not temporary.
I won a trifecta at Arlingon Racetrack on June 14th only to turn around and lose it all. But, it was the best $57.40 I have ever spent.
June went by so fast that I still feel like it's May.

On to the next. I had a very enlightening conversation with both my brother and one of my very closest friends. It felt like for the first time in a very long time, people were being very frank and very honest about the type of person I am and the way that I approach life. It hit me like a ton of bricks - even in a terrible state of mind - and I have spent the last 48+ hours contemplating every word that was spoken. I have come to some very big conclusions that most of you had come to a long time ago. Sorry for being so slow on the uptake everyone.

Life is not perfect. No person on this Earth is perfect. The media and magazines like to portray what a perfect family looks like, how to cook the perfect meal, how to be the perfect Mom, how to look your best, be the best wife/partner, how to be the perfect friend, etc. Essentially creating unattainable standards that nobody will ever be able to live up to, and therefore, nobody, including myself, should be held to that standard. Nobody should be judged for any reason -ever. I apologize to all of those I have judged, intentionally and unintentionally.
Spending the last 15 years worrying about what other people think of me has warped me into becoming a 'follower' and succombing to the whims of others. I am usually headstrong in my opinions and beliefs, but I am easily walked all over by people as to not upset them. True friends stick by your side through good and bad, so it's ok to have a voice.
I easily become jealous of those that have things that I don't. Why? I have no idea. Perhaps I am the one who feels that they are owed a break in life - leaving me to be nothing more than a hypocrite. Maybe I have felt like the better I was, or more perfect I was, the more I was owed something for good behavior. You would think that after 20 years I would realize that is not the case.
Most of things that have happened in my life have occured because I have created them. The ones that I am not responsible for, I need to acknowledge and move passed. I need to stop being resentful and start being more grateful for all of the great people and things I do have in my life.
I need to grow up and start acting like I am an adult. No late night partying, no complaining about other people's issues, no searching for approval I may or may not get. I need to stop worrying so much about what other people think, what my family thinks, what my friends think. It doesn't matter at all in the scheme of things. At all. I will respect opinions, but no more fear about making the right/wrong decision. I want to live a life without fear or regrets for the first time. I think this alone will change my life.

So, while this might be a slow going process, I am hoping that I am taking steps to become the person that I want to be and have the life I have always dreamed of having wiith all the inevitable missteps along the way. The destination is not worth the journey without some hard work. See you there.

Word :)

The best way you can help others is to first live your own life with integrity.

Ugh....Life Sometimes

2008-05-21T15:28:00.002-05:00

I wish I had lots of wonderful things to say about how grand life is at the moment, but alas, I have nothing. I am very appreciative of my husband, our health, our families and our friends, but I could do with a little less stress in my life. It is very possible I will lose my job fairly soon, which means I have to start looking asap or we won't be able to afford to live in our home - just our cars. Which might not be too bad, but start to smell after awhile. I'd love to rant about something good - but I haven't the energy. Maybe tomorrow.....

Pray for some goodness :)

Word y'all.

Just Say No to $4/Gallon

2008-04-24T12:43:00.002-05:00

There seems to be no limit to what this nation is willing to pay for gasoline and I think it's sick. The housing market is in decline more from the result of high gas prices than anything else. Two years ago, prices were about half of where they are now. Where will it stop? There seems to be no end to corporate greed these days. As long as US citizens are keeping their demand for gas stagnant or worse yet, increasing the demand, do you think that the gas prices will go down? Are you 100% sure that Exxon would like to see a dip in their multi-billion dollar quarterly profits? Hmmm.......doubtful.

On this note, my good friend Ted and I have decided that we think $4/gal for gas is ridiculous and refuse to pay for it (unless completely necessary). While our two-person boycott might seem like a futile attempt to get the message out about the need for alternative fuels, we feel that it has to start somewhere. Therefore, you can look for us everyday, starting Monday April 28th, as we ride our bikes to and from work. Each of us is anticipating an approx. 10+ miles each way. We are also going to drop in to a local Lake County Bike Club meeting and try to get more cyclists on board to start biking to work from Spring to Fall. Bike commuting is not only saving our wallets, but improving our health and is better for the environment. I sincerely hope that some of you at least appreciate the message that we are trying to get across. Maybe it will catch on.....

Word!

Do you believe in ghosts?

2008-04-18T14:42:00.000-05:00

OK, so I normally wouldn't write about this stuff, but I think we have a ghost in my house and just typing those words make me feel like a crazy person. As some of you know, I had my first 'home alone' night last night in a long time. Since we moved into the house, I have never felt totally alone if you know what I mean. I have seen what looks like a transparent person walking down my hallway towards our bedroom and disappear before. It's like a flash, so I always think that the shadows are playing tricks on me. Anyway, it happened again last night, but it looked as though it floated towards the kitchen. Then Zoe, my cat, started going nuts in the kitchen and meowing at something that didn't exist above her - I was in the kitchen with her and saw/felt nothing. I also saw (twice) a flash of light out our back door. If you've been to my house during the day, you konw that nobody lives behind us and there are no streets. It looked like it flashed on the deck. And, this is the strangest thing, about 5 minutes after Jeff and I laid down to go to bed and I heard a voice - like a whisper. It was a woman's voice and it sounded like it was in the hallway outside of our bedroom door. It's the voice that scares me the most! It didn't sound familiar and I can't remember what it said - it hapened fast and sounded like it started with an S - perhaps "shut". I knew what she said last night, but then I forgot while sleeping terrified. Jeff said he has heard things but assumes it is just the cats. One time, he got up in the middle of the night and because he heard what he though was glass breaking, but found nothing. I feel like a crazy person.

Going to the Big D and don't mean Dallas

2008-04-11T16:26:00.003-05:00

That's right folks - in less than 12 hours, Jeff and I will be crawling (I mean falling) out of bed to get in the car and head to O'Hare for what I hope is a nice, relaxing, sleep-filled flght to Denver. As I menioned in my About Me section, we are considering a move out there and this is our first 'trial' weekend. We are going to ski tomorrow (naturally) which rocks because Loveland just got dumped on with 18" of snow and six more expected by tomorrow. All that powder realy sucks, doesn't it?So, the plan is to ski tomorrow and perhaps go check out George Clinton at Copper Mtn. We have some plans to look around the area and meet with some people to see a few potential rentals out there. We are really just trying to scope out the area and pick out the neighborhoods we'd like to live in. We are back and forth on that right now from our online searching. I can't wait for the day when we have teleportation available. Random thought. Anyway, I will update this weekend on any new developments from our lovely little getaway.

Wordness bitches :)

(That was for you Sar)

Understanding the Title of My Swindle Sheet

2008-04-11T10:53:00.004-05:00

So, for those of you who do not know where The Chroni-what-cles of Pastorino comes from, please watch this video. I thank my dear friend Gretchen for enlightening me....

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4663910085219139603

Worrrrrrrrd.

Some Things That Annoy Me - Volume 1

2008-04-10T23:05:00.004-05:00

I was inspired to write this post after seeing a truth commercial called "The Magical Amount" with dancing leprechauns, unicorns and morons dancing around singing an annoying song. I'm cool with the message that smoking is bad, but come on.....

So, I have decided to mention just a couple of other things that annoy me:

1) Talking insanely loud on your cell phone while you are in the office. Lower your voice, I'm sure they can hear you, if not, use the office line.

2) People who can't drive while talking on their cell phones. Learn how to do it safely or pull off the road. Where I'm going is more important than what is distracting you. Most of the time.

3) The insanse sense of entitlement that plagues the children of central Lake County. You reside in Libertyville, not Buckingham Palace. You drive a VW Bug, not a Bentley. You have not earned any form of wealth, you parents did, so nobody owes you a thing. Thanks for being born though.

4) When people don't change the toilet paper roll. Seriously.

5) Judgements. I hate that. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but have some respect for others situations and how they have arrived at where they are if you don't approve of it. I am guilty of this at times, and it annoys me even more when I do it.

Ok, time for bed. Check back later for more :)

Word.

My 1st Blog

2008-04-10T13:10:00.000-05:00

Ok, I guess I should say - "Welcome to my Blog" - but to be honest, I'm not even sure what a blog is or how it got it's very lame moniker. How about a cooler name than blog? Anything? Who thought up the term "weblog" anyways and decided to shorten it? Was there a vote? Things like this should really be voted on. I'm sure there are much more creative and appealing ways to describe these little online journals. In an effort to figure out the true definition of a blog, I went to http://www.dictionary.com/. This is great. Definition of web log is "see blog" and the definition of blog is "see weblog". Hmmmm......So, knowing that a blog is simply on online journal, I decided to look up "journal" in the thesaurus and came up with the most awesome synonym ever: swindle sheet. It was better than toilet paper (which was also a synonym) and more importantly, made me laugh out loud. Therefore, I will forever refer to my blog as my swindle sheet or 'Mr. Swindles' for short.

Continuing on, I'm not really sure what else I can post about at this time. I have no news, I do not have children yet (and don't plan on it until I figure what I want out of life), I have a half crazy family, I have a half crazy group of friends (sorry but it's true, but don't worry, you aren't the ones I'm talking about. Or are you?) and I coach diving in my "spare time". Anyway, I like to have a good time and I try not to take things too seriously all of the time.

So, welcome to my little world. I will try to keep it interesting!

Word.